Sunday, May 18, 2014

Stylearc Harper Jacket... the cold has arrived!

I was invited at the start of the month to a High tea for a 50th Birthday party... yeah! I thought I can get out the Anthea High Tea dress again! Then the weather started to get really cool... ok, I still have a nice frock (McCalls 5974) I haven't worn a lot so I can still do the 'frock up' for the occasion!.

Fail! ... the weather got colder and colder and winter arrived even though it is still officially only autumn. So luckily I whipped out the jacket I had made ready for the cold in the previous month. I teamed it with a RTW turtleneck and my black pants - made here, but I have slightly narrowed the legs. (oh and worn with leggings underneath... needed lots of layers!)

This is the Stylearc Harper jacket. I made it in a heavy weight merino picked up at The Fabric Store in Brisbane. I love it but do think it is a little big for me in the shoulders.

This is it closed as per the design picture.

That is both hook and eyes closed. This is not my favourite way to wear it but certainly makes it a warm jacket for those really cold days.

This is my fave way to wear it - only one hook and eye closed..

I really quite like it. It is a simple sew. I left off the the little squares they give you in the pattern pieces to cover the hooks. I just hand sewed them tidily in a great matching thread and was happy enough with the finish. I assume they little squares were meant to cover the stitching?? I wasn't 100% sure, but was happy enough with my finish that I didn't use them. BTW they give you a set of two hooks and eyes with the pattern... nice!

It also lets you leave the edges unfinished or to use a narrow hem. As this fabric is quite thick I did not want to use a narrow hem. I considered leaving them unfinished but was worried the merino may ladder. So after consultation with my buddies on Pattern Review (sewing down under board) I used a 2 thread overlock stitch. This is my first time using my overlocker with two threads so it was a bit of a learning opportunity. This is how it looked...

It was much neater running along the fabric than along the grain, but is still preferable to no edge finish (in my book at least).

So a great jacket - easy to sew, comfortable to wear and warm in the thick merino. I have worn it another time since the High Tea so think it will come into heavy rotation over this coming winter.

Ciao for now kittens, my blogging is a bit ad-hoc at the moment but I promise to have something new to show you soon.